Daran Rungwatthanasophon

Mathew Bishop
English 1207
February 22, 2019
The Beginning of Chef’s Life

Since youth, my house has been a wonderful location where all my relatives gathered

in every week and celebration. Every members brought their delicious food and my

housemaids and my parents also had to be well prepared. The time started at 4:30 pm till 8:00

pm. The kids were playing and the elders enjoyed their precious dishes. There were large ten

or twelve dishes placed on table and approximately three to four dishes were sent out from

my house's kitchen as we were responsible for. The conversation on the table went on, kids

were in the living room after finishing their meals, and the food on plates were lessening

except our food.

The dinner party had come to the end where my relatives began to leave and it was

time to clean up the table. Apparently, I often noticed abundant remaining of our dishes that

some went to waste and some were saved for tomorrow meals. What I always saw and heard

,when I was in table surrounded by elders, were ridiculous comments to our dishes and lack

of attention from them towards thoses. My parents did not seem care whether our dishes were

eaten all or not but I did feel the embarrassment.

I first stepped into the kitchen when I was only 12 years old and what I could mightily

perform was fried egg and omelette. I spent uncountable times watching youtube videos how

to do it. Why fried egg and omelette? At that time, when my housemaid or mother did fried

egg and omelette, they tasted horrible and were hard to be eaten. Therefore, I considered

these two menus to be my first mission which must be completed before I could other things

else. I did have fried eggs and omelette on the dinner table for days and asked comments

from my father and observing some new cooking techniques.

 As I had a successful completion of my first mission, I aimed to move on to the next

level that what my family always has in every dinner. Originally, our fried vegetables tasted

like boiled-plain vegetable with lack of scent and got no any of saltiness or sweetness. I

decided to make it become better by adding some new ingredient, and watching more

cooking videos.

The first attempt reached out over my expectation as I obviously found out the

mistakes my housemaid made while I was observing for the methods. During the frying

vegetables, she initially stirred garlics with oil until the aroma developed; then vegetables

were added with subsequent water. Just the beginning, the method was completely wrong. By

adding water as the second following in the pan, what vegetables did were absorbing and

getting to be cooked insipidly. Then, she added minimal sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce.

Adding the seasonings at last did not result completely positive since the vegetables did not

suck up the sauces into themselves but rather taste plain. This dish would surely taste like

boiled vegetables dipping with salty sauce. What I did was rearranging the methods by

adding the seasoning sauce first and minimally scattering some water at the end before

serving. Additionally, during frying, I put some crushed black pepper for better fragrance and

flavour.

Until at the age of 14, I began to learn some of the cooking processes of thai dishes

and cooked for my family in every dinner, mastering some new techniques and knife skills.

Within 2 years, subsequently, assigned confidently from my parents, I have responsibility in

arranging menus in every celebration, festival, or religious rite. There were some successes

and many failures as lessons.

By the age of 16, I realised myself how much willing and passion I want to be a chef

and the turning point commenced when I asked my parents to further study culinary college
abroad after the graduation of high school. The rejection from my father became my main

obstacle of my career pathway and dream. In thai culture, many conservative people view

people who are chefs as labor profession. I still remembered on the Saturday night that only

my father and I were in the car heading to Makro to purchase some ingredients as the

preparation for Sunday rite. We were both arguing and he stated all the negativities of this

career. “How much money you could make per day from dishes you cook comparing to the

massive production. Commerce is the only one key that you survive from this world. People

decide to be chefs because they get no any option left.” said my father. However, I did not

understand why he said that since he did not truly know how to be a successful chef and what

could earn money in his term was only business. He had heard from many people that chef is

a tough career that he said “You still do not know how to become a chef and you want to be

because our cousins merely complement your dishes. I would suggest you to have a deep

study into this career.”

Among my family’s members, only my father contradicted to my culinary pathway

except others who keep supporting my passion in food. Thankfully to my brother, he

suggested me to brush away those negative words said by my father. In the past, my brother

did have an argument between him and father that he was wanting to study finance instead of

engineering or doctor. In present day, he has proven everyone that fortunately he wisely

decided to choose his career way and not listening to what father said. “We are born once and

we better make your dream once come true! Be proud and looking back to what you have

done after retirement rather than just old and retired.”

Nevertheless, without any hesitation to change my dream career, I have studied more

about guidance to be a chef and restaurant owner and read up about culinary college such as

Culinary Institution of America(CIA) and Le Cordon Bleu. I did purchase a bibliography

book of a renowned chef named Raymond Blanc whom Marco Pierre White working with at

his young age. I was trying to read in front of my parents as they could see how passionate I

was. I still continued cooking every day at afternoon after arriving back from school and

every Sunday when relatives gather.

On one Friday night, I was watching my best Netflix series ever ,Breaking Bad, and

straighten my legs on the comfy sofa chilling out. The door was opened and my father

walked towards and sat my bed like wanting to tell me something. I paused the series and

turned and ready for a talk. “I know that you were totally unsatisfied about my opinion and

what I have said to your dream career.” said by my father. At that instant moment, I was

anxious that whether he will support me to go to the college I want or not. Then, “Whoever

you want to be and which direction you are going, I am willing to support you and stay

besides you. I did that behaviour in the past to you because I want you to learn more about

this career and its tough route. More importantly, since I got lack knowledge in this career, I

want to choose it wisely and do not want to see you wasting your first in university.” said by

my father. He then left the room.

From that night till present, every family’s member including relatives fully support

my determination and I spent numerous times searching for culinary colleges. My family

brought me to many high-end restaurants to collect some new ideas. I did brought some of

my closest friends to have a try on my dishes; therefore, I could step out of comfort zone,

handling higher pressure and obtaining some new feedbacks. I was spent to some culinary

institution in Thailand in order to attain some new techniques and be advised by those chefs.

In total, I have already earned 10 culinary certificates.

During high school at MUIDS, I have conducted my own drinking product named

Fitchick, serving and being well suitable for students and staffs who seriously attend
weight-training exercise, having a goal to have effective muscle growth. My product is the

blended chicken drinks with other ingredients which is having the identical purpose as same

as protein powder. I enabled to sell 15 bottles a day for 4 months nonstop.

In present day, I am very proud of the support from my beloved family that they

willingly to let me choose my future direction. I consider myself as a fortunate person who

finds out his own passion and dream career. I always believe that nothing is important as

passion and passion can make the impossibility happen. People who know what to do in their

lives, have already been half successful. My aim is to achieve three michelin stars of my own

restaurant and hopefully at that time, my restaurant will be the first that reaches to that level.

There some people still judge on this career or some say I can not make my dream possibly

come true but I do not care and rather take that as challenge to prove them wrong. Now, I

have applied to Bachelor of Business Administration in Food Business Management Degree

Program at Culinary Institution of America, New York. Let’s see who I will be in the next

years.